Hankerson had a monster Senior Bowl week to propel himself up this far. Pats seriously need more receivers who can get vertical and stretch opposing defenses. Wes Welker just wasn’t the same since without Moss complementing him. Both when Moss was there and after he left, in 2011.

For a synopsis on NE’s draft prospects, and why they’re the most intriguing team in the league this April go here

2. Buffalo Bills Justin Houston, OLB, Georgia

The Bills are notoriously one of the toughest teams to predict on draft day, but I could easily see them trying to shore up that porous front-seven. A former defensive end, Houston switched over to a stand up pass rushing outside backer in 2010. And he fit the bill perfectly.

3. Cincinnati Bengals Christian Ponder, QB, Florida St

Ponder is probably the third best prospect in a very weak QB class. Still no time like the present to start grooming Carson Palmer’s replacement. If indeed he does come back, which is still not set in stone. Ponder had a tremendous pro day, no doubt partially augmented by the presence of Isaac Bruce, who came in to catch his throws.

His “grindiness” has seen him move up the charts lately. Work ethic, intangibles, he seems to be exactly what NFL teams are looking for in a tight end. And Denver needs to find more versatility and balance in their offense. Adding depth at this position would help quite a bit.

5. Cleveland Browns, Brooks Reed, DE/OLB, Arizona

Reed had a great combine; and his quick first step and his explosiveness has drawn comparisons to Clay Matthews; high praise indeed.

This Oregon State prospect was able to bench 225 pounds a whopping 49 times at Monday’s Combine workout. That’s a combine record. It took him just a minute to lift 11,025 pounds. Perhaps he’ll shoot up into the first round?

7. Tennessee Titans, Aaron Williams, CB, Texas

it’ll be interesting to see what the Titans’ insane defensive coordinator can do with this guy. Williams has ideal size and musculature, but he’s still a little skinny by NFL standards. Has great technique though.

8. Dallas Cowboys, Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland

Smith needs to make sure no one compares him to former Terps WR and workout warrior Darius Heyward-Bey. Measurables are one thing, but on-field performance is another. Smith had a 1,000 yard season despite being the only pass-catching option on his team. He’s a bargain here.

9. Washington Redskins, Danny Watkins, OG, Baylor

Are the Hogs ever going to come back? Will we ever have another Hogs 2.0? Probably not as long as a Daniel Snyder is in charge. But Skins will go for OL help anyway.

10. Houston Texans, Phil Taylor, DL, Baylor

Do the Texans keep the local product close by home? It all comes down to how much Taylor is able to diet his way into the league. He could tip the scales at an alarming number if he doesn’t watch himself. Taylor didn’t have the greatest Texas Bowl versus the Illini, but there aren’t many true nose tackle prospects in this class.

11. Minnesota Vikings, Bruce Carter, OLB, North Carolina

Carter is another guy who could have possibly been picked this year, but went back to school to sharpen up his skills. He’s speedy, and could make a great fit at the SAM position.

Moore who picked off ten passes last fall, and has all the skills to play “centerfield” in the NFL. But I’m still not entirely sold on him as a prospect.

14. Denver (from Mia) Cameron Heyward, DL, Ohio State

Nice prospect to pair with Bowers from round one. But Heyward could have been picked somewhere in the #15-#25 range in the NFL Draft had he come out last spring. His stock is rising for 2011; even though people don’t often talk about him. He’s the “sneaky hot” player in the Big Ten. I guess you could call him the Pam Beesly/Jenna Fischer of the NFL Draft.

How high he gets drafted will depend on his ability to flourish in both the 3-4 and the 4-3 schematics. The new hot trend these days is for collegiate defensive ends to transition into 3-4 outside linebackers. I asked Heyward about playing in both base defenses.

“I think the 4-3 is a better fit sometimes for running and physical teams, but in the 3-4 you can mix it up too, you can bring a couple linebackers up on the edge and bring your d linemen down in the middle,” he responded.

Any preference? “I’m pretty confident in both of ‘em.”

And Heyward’s greatest strength? (according to him) “I think my bull rush is pretty good, but the thing I’m most confident about is just finding the ball and not giving up on the play.”

Cincy needs an inside linebacker and despite the fact that he really only had one solid season of starting under his belt, the Illini Wilson is the #1 guy on the charts at this position. He’s still more potential and measurables than he is stats, but man has he overcome a lot during his years in Champaign-Urbana just to get here.

Much of Wilson’s growth stems from the now-infamous stabbing incident in December 2008, when he was out at a local bar called Fubar with one of his former teammates – Eastern Illinois standout running back D’Angelo McCray – and two of McCray’s friends from Eastern. The following year, he missed pretty much all of 2009 due to a neck injury. Wilson’s health is certainly not in question now; as he owned the combine. But his pro day showed less than optimal footwork, and his stock plummeted a bit.

Tyler Sash a 6-1, 210 junior from Oskaloosa, Iowa is the starter on the strong side. And he’s about the same size as starting free safety Brett Greenwood, a 6-0 200 pound senior from Bettendorf. You might hear Greenwood’s name called in a later round, but he doesn’t have as much stock as Sash.

23. Kansas City Chiefs Jerrelle Powe, NT, Mississippi

Powe is more of a 3-4 round prospect, but he fills a need for KC, so I see him slotting up into this round

24. New Orleans SaintsShiloh Keo, S, Idaho

Made a name for himself at the combine

25. Seattle Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada

Could supplant Locker as the fourth QB taken, maybe even Ponder as the third, should things get silly and nutty and draft day. Hard nosed worker, “grindy,” treats the game as life or death, clocked with the highest velocity on his passes at the combine (59 m.p.h.) Athletic and very mobile. Good see work as a receiver even.

Has to learn touch on his ball, doesn’t have experience in pro style passing offenses, didn’t get much work against top notch competition. Has drawn some Vince Young comparisons

26. Baltimore RavensDrake Nevis, DT, LSU

Could be the first d tackle taken after Nick Fairley, but the foot injury keeping him out of the Senior Bowl greatly hurt his stock.

27. Atlanta Falcons Titus Young, WR, Boise St

How much was his game helped by having such a great QB in Kellen Moore and facing mid-major DBs all the time? He answered some critics by catching every pass but one in the combine gauntlet drill.

28. New England Patriots Allen Bailey, DE, Miami

. How many freaking picks in the first two rounds do they have? How can they not win the Super Bowl when you take a 14-2 team and give them 4 picks in the first two rounds?

For a synopsis on NE’s draft prospects, and why they’re the most intriguing team in the league this April go here

29. San Diego (from NYJ) Ugo Chinasa, DE, Oklahoma St

And we have the first major sleeper pick of the draft. His combine numbers have propelled Chinasa up a couple pegs.

30. Chicago BearsClint Boling, OT, Georgia

They seriously should consider taking a OL in all seven rounds, just so they can get at least one or two to pan out.